Cancer Deaths at Appeals Court Subject Transmitters to Scrutiny

An attempt was made in 2000, during the tenure of Sami Selcuk as presiding judge of the Court of Appeals, to remove the transmitters from the vicinity of the building. Selcuk wrote to the Prime Ministry, claiming that the transmitters were causing cancer and requesting their removal. But the request was denied by the Ministry of Communications, which indicated that "standards" had been met.

A court clerk receiving cancer treatment filed a suit in 2001 demanding that the transmitters be removed. Expert testimony was presented during the hearings that the transmitters were a health hazard and should be removed. The Ankara Civil Court of the First Instance, which heard the case, is expected to give its final verdict on April 29. In the event the lower court rules that the transmitters must be removed and the verdict is appealed, the case would normally come before the Court of Appeals, although it is unable to be a party to lawsuits it hears.

Murat Aydin / Ankara / TURKEY